News

Rauner Embraces Voter Turnout

Governor candidate Bruce Rauner is deviating from the Republican Party line on a bill that passed in the Illinois Legislature.

The bill would allow same-day voter registration and more days for in-person early voting, which Republicans in the General Assembly say is a ploy to bring more Democratic voters to the polls.

Rauner says he’s not familiar with the finer points of the bill, but he’s OK with the idea. “I’m a believer that our democratic process is critical to our prosperity as a state and as a nation. I think having voters engaged and involved and everybody voting, all registered voters voting, is a great thing, and the more folks that vote, the better, and to the degree we help that process, I’m supportive of that,” he said.

Rauner says the fall-off in votes between a presidential election and a mid-term is unfortunate. In Illinois, 5.2 million people voted for president in 2012, whereas 3.7 million cast ballots for governor in 2010.

Rauner says he’s not afraid of Democratic constituencies casting more votes, because he’s campaigning to them.. “We’re not doing what most Republicans do, and that is go to a few country clubs and go to a few farm events. We are in every neighborhood in every community,” he said.